First Annual Congress on Low Carbon Electricity Systems

Date & Venue: June 16, 2009 - Arnhem

A new annual congress has been established with the intention of exchanging knowledge on low carbon electricity systems. The congress invites the participation of professionals interested in developing their vision of low carbon electricity, including policy makers, utility planning managers, consultants, energy industry representatives, research journalists and academics. Participants can expect a realistic, market-oriented approach with academic validation.

The electricity systems of the near future

What action should be taken to accelerate the move towards low carbon electricity? What are the options for policy makers and market players? Those questions will form the basis of this new annual congress.

The initial 2009 event has a broad theme: ‘Electricity in the Next Decade’. European policy will be discussed, as well as the integration of large-scale renewables, smart grids, quality of supply, electricity storage and electric vehicles.

A collaboration of KEMA and Leonardo Energy

This new congress is an initiative by KEMA, Leonardo Energy and the European Copper Institute. Having worked together on a wide range of energy-related topics for several years, they have jointly decided to create a forum for the exchange of knowledge among experts.

Electricity in a low carbon economy

If we are to build a sustainable energy future for Europe, a key role will be reserved for electricity. Its simplicity and cleanliness at the point of use, combined with the feasibility of carbon-free power generation, make it a preferred energy carrier.

Two major developments are required simultaneously to evolve towards a carbon-lean economy. Firstly, electrical power generation has to become increasingly low carbon. The precise energy mix for achieving this is a point of discussion, but it is unlikely that we can achieve it without large-scale integration of renewable power systems into the grid. Secondly, electricity has to gain ground in end-use applications. Electric vehicles and electric heating systems are two major domains in which electricity could replace the direct use of fossil fuels.

The congress will discuss both electricity generation and end-use developments, as well as the conceptual changes in the electricity grid that those developments might encourage.

Looking one decade ahead

The First Annual Congress takes the year 2020 as its horizon. European policy will serve as a background for discussing several technologies and their perspectives for the coming decade. On the generation side, the focus will be on large-scale wind energy, concentrated solar power and ocean energy. Since those systems all have an intermittent output, energy storage will require attention as well. On the end-user side, electric vehicles will be discussed, for which energy storage is also a concern. The integration of those new technologies into the electricity grid may be facilitated through the use of smart grids. This will form another topic at the 2009 congress. Finally, the congress will also discuss the influence of all these developments on the power quality supplied by the grid.

An annual congress with a permanent community

The annual congress will last for one whole day and will include seven to eight 40 minute sessions, which might be presentations or workshops. In between these sessions, there will be time to meet and discuss the topics with fellow participants. Participation is free of charge.

On top of the annual event, an internet community of practice will be created around a blog and a knowledge inventory. Members of this community will have access to documents and papers related to the congress topics, and will be able to comment on them. The community will also organise regular webinars on the topics of the congress.

Annual Congress on Low Carbon Electricity Systems
1st meeting theme: ‘Electricity in the Next Decade’

Tuesday 16 June 2009, 09:00 – 18:00 Congresscentrum Elektrum, Klingelbeekseweg 45, 6812 DE Arnhem, The Netherlands

Free of charge

Topics:

• Integrating wind power in European power systems (Frans van Hulle - EWEA, Frits Verheij - KEMA)
• Concentrated solar plants (Luis Crespo - Protermosolar)
• Ocean energy (Hans Christian Soerensen - EU-OEA)
• Electricity storage (Jillis Raadschelders - KEMA)
• The mobile smart grid (Andre Postma - Enexis)
• Workshop - Smart grids (Peter Vaessen - KEMA, Hans Pol - EMVT)
• Quality of supply (David Chapman - CDA UK)